Well, the time is nearly upon us, folks. Jyger’s Rant’s first-ever fan-vote tournament will begin in four days. As such, it’s now time to reveal the final roster of heroines that will compete in this tournament. Here are the 16 individuals who will battle it out, with the winners determined by you, the audience.

So, just thought I’d keep everybody up-to-date with what I’m doing for the next little bit. First off, if you’re wondering where the updates to my Nuzlocke run are, I’m still playing the game and getting screencaps of myself, but updates are gonna be kinda sporadic. This is because of two things that are happening that I’ll get into in a bit, but for now, don’t worry, the adventures of Mikey, Oswald, and the rest of my team will continue soon.

One major reason why the Nuzlocke updates will be spaced out, though, is because of Marvelous May. Speaking of, today is the cut-off date, so as of right now, I’m no longer taking votes. That means that tomorrow, I will be posting the finalized roster for the fan-vote tournament. Please remember that voting on individual match-ups won’t occur until May, when said match-ups are posted.

As most long-time readers of my blog know, N. Harmonik is my proofreader, and the two of us have done vlogs where we watch the newest Death Battles as of late. However, for this week, her and her mother have gone to Disney World. As such, I’ll be doing the Death Battle vlog solo this week (which is actually cool for me, since I don’t need to wait a few days to see it). But, when she gets back, N. Harmonik has agreed to do an article talking about her time in Disney World, along with photos she’s taken, so look forward to that. ^_^

On top of all that, expect there to probably be a quick vlog and/or slideshow of me going to Free Comic Book Day, as I am prone to do, and don’t be surprised if there’s some coverage of news regarding the upcoming DC Rebirth. Speaking of, I’ve been meaning to ask everybody here, if you were Geoff Johns and looking to steer the ship that is the DC Universe in a specific path, what would it be and what books would you want running as part of this new direction? Just something that’s been on my mind a lot lately is all. Oh, and lastly, sometime within the next couple of months, I plan to do a How To Drop The Ball In Comics about The New 52. Just one last look at everything that went pretty alright and horribly wrong with the reboot.

And in regards to my writing, after all of this is out of the way, I plan to go back and finish J.A. Phillips Presents Batman and Robin. After that, I’ll probably get to work on either Primal Strife or the long-awaited Season 2 of Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of at the moment in terms of future plans. Lemme know if you have any thoughts on my current gameplan and projects, and I’ll try to get back to you. Ja né!

I…I can’t make jokes about this scenario. The book is doing it for me. XD Anyway, here are the preview pages for my last issue of the misadventures of Kamala Khan (at least until the next trade after the one collecting these issues comes out), Ms. Marvel #6.

A problem of plenty becomes a problem of many as the Kamala Khan doppelgangers get out of control.

Kamala always wanted to be the biggest super hero there ever was… but she didn’t mean it literally!

Well, I’m sure, after last time I reviewed Poison Ivy, that everyone was wondering what I’d think of this issue. Would I like it, would I hate it, would it further the problems of the last one or recover from them? Well, let’s not waste any time and dive into Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #4 to find out.

So, right off the top, I do need to make mention of the fact that, yes, Poison Ivy apparently kills someone. However, this issue, it didn’t bother me NEARLY as much. In fact, I actually thought it worked perfectly within her personality. The details are kinda spoiler heavy, though, so I’m gonna write this in white within brackets. If you don’t wanna know what happened, don’t read it, but if you do, highlight the whole thing to find out. [Okay, so long story short, Pam finds out that Victor in the lab was the one who stole her notes, was the murderer all along, and used Pam’s research to try and create his own human/plant hybrids. The thing is, there was only ONE successful test subject, who was able to call out through the Green to Ivy for help. All of the others, who numbered in the dozens, maybe HUNDREDS, of fetuses? Not so lucky. Between that and the fact that Victor was going to threaten her and her children, Pam lost it, destroyed the lab, and damned near took herself, Catwoman, Darshan, and the girl with it in a rage, though it’s implied she killed Victor as the lab was brought down around him.] Suffice to say, after that? I don’t blame Pam for killing him. It’s something I wouldn’t expect Batman or Superman to do, but that’s strictly because they’re the people that don’t cross that line except in the most extreme of circumstances, because they’re the ones who HAVE to maintain that line between justice and vengeance, to show we don’t have to go down that road. To see Pam cross the line because someone did something so horrific? Not that big a big deal to me. Hell, I might’ve killed that guy, and I’m someone who values all life!

Other than that, the issue is relatively solid. I will say that, while I feel like Catwoman could’ve been used a bit better, seeing her and Darshan play off each other and show one another up back and forth was kinda fun. One minor nitpick: Because Clay Mann is doing Trinity for DC Rebirth, he had to take off early, and while those that replaced him are all good (or even great in the case of Ethan Van Sciver), they didn’t necessarily gel together that great at points in this issue. I guess the only other problem is that the murder mystery is over, but we’ve still got two issues left, so other than an insane amount of just throwing everything at us, I’m not sure where we go from here. I’m kinda hoping for/expecting a Gotham City Sirens reunion by the end, and the giant plant monster that’s been teased, but how it all ties together? I don’t know. But in terms of this issue on its own and judged by its own merits? Can’t complain too much.

Anyway, that’s all I had to say about this one. Big improvement in my eyes over last issue. Let’s hope it keeps up for the last two issues. Until then, lemme know what you think in the comments, and I’ll see you back here for issue 5. Ja né!

Just letting everyone know, we’re one week away from the official announcement of the full list of competitors in Jyger’s Rant’s first-ever Marvelous May fan-vote tournament of Marvel superheroines. You still have one week to leave a comment and let me know who you’d like to see in this tournament, as there are currently 8 spots unconfirmed. For those who didn’t see on my 5th Anniversary post, here’re the 8 confirmed competitors thus far, or the Initial 8 if you will…

…and, just for reference, here’s a quick look at just SOME of the heroines you could see in this tournament.

Is your favourite not present? Well vote for them, then! XD

Lastly, here’s the actual tournament bracket, or at least how it looks for now.

The eight individuals that will be voted into the tournament will take up the empty spots. So, if you wanna see someone in this tournament, please let me know in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook by April 26th, after which, I’ll be posting the full tournament bracket on April 27th, and then opening voting for the first match-ups on May 1st. See you all then!

Not THAT handily. Like I said, Giovanni’s Kangaskhan can actually be kinda tough.

Last time in the Pokémon FireRed Text-And-Screencap-Only Nuzlocke Challenge, I found out that the Silph Scope, required to identify the ghosts of Pokémon Tower, had been stolen by Team Rocket. As such, I stormed their hidden base underneath the Rocket Game Corner and defeated their boss, Giovanni, thus reclaiming the Silph Scope. This time, I headed back to Lavender Town to enter the Pokémon Tower, find Mr. Fuji, and uncover the truth of what was happening. However, almost as soon as I made my way to the second floor of the tower…

…Tim? There are days I worry that I enjoy beating the shit outta you and your team a little TOO much. Cue theme song!

Needless to say, Mikey has gotten a wee bit tougher now that he’s become fully evolved.

DEATH FROM ABOVE PART 3!!!

I’m warning you, Tim. I’ve got Ethers, and I’m not afraid to use ’em!

Anyway, after that all-too-casual-by-now ass-kicking, I made my way to the upper floors…and maybe I was a little crazy, but it seemed like something wasn’t quite right…

I know, I’m taking a big leap here, but it just seemed like things weren’t quite ordinary.

Sure enough, after defeating a couple of the Channelers…

…Great. Demonic possession. Rated E for Everyone!

So yeah, the Ghost-type Pokémon in the tower have been possessing the Channelers to battle anyone who tries to ascend to the top. So, after capturing one for myself…

Yeah, I know it was the most obvious thing to call him, leave me alone. lol

…I began battling my way through the Channelers, releasing them from the control of their Ghost-types upon defeat.

Okay, you’re either possessed, or you’re vampires. I don’t care which one, just make up your mind.

Luckily, Edge and Milo are both Normal-type Pokémon with Dark-type moves, so they’re immune to anything the Gastly can use on them but can dish out super effective damage in return.

Just to keep his Special Attack stat high enough to deal with stuff like this.

Oh good, a friendly one!… … …Wait, if this area is purified, why not corral all the other Channelers into this spot and let the energies undo the possession?

Anyway, it didn’t take long for me to defeat all the Channelers and free them from their Ghost-type Pokémon. However, just as I reached the staircase leading to the top, where I guessed Mr. Fuji was, I ran into a whole new problem…

… …Aaaaannnnd scared.

OH CRAP, IT’S MISSINGNO. IN ITS GHOST FORM!!! SOMEONE CALL LORD VYCE AND TELL HIM THE ENTITY IS HERE!!! XD

Who’s that Pokémon?!

It’s…Marowak!

…So yeah. Long story short, Cubone’s mother returned from the dead as a spirit of vengeance. In fact, if I may speculate, I’d go so far as to guess that the other Ghost-type Pokémon weren’t really trying to cause trouble as much as get people’s attention. Especially because, as it turned out, Team Rocket was hiding out on the top floor. They’d kidnapped Mr. Fuji when he tried to deal with them himself. After calming Marowak’s soul…

…rather violently, actually…

…I made my way up the stairs to deal with Team Rocket personally.

…THIS.

IS.

FOR.

MAROWAK!!!

One rather violent beat-down set to Through The Fire And Flames later…

Feeling a lot better, I decided it was finally time to wake up the Snorlax south from Lavender Town. However, I knew that, when Snorlax wake up unplanned, that they can attack whatever wakes them in a pretty massive rage. Also, in battle, it could use Rest to recover all damage it’d taken. As such, I came up with a plan: I’d have Poe, immune to all of Snorlax’s attacks and now having learned Hidden Power, hit Snorlax with it to have it lose some health and force it to use Rest, at which point, Poe would then use Spite to reduce Rest’s PP. After Rest was completely depleted, it would then just be a matter of weakening Snorlax enough to get in a Great Ball. That would fall to Martini, who would use Thunder Wave to paralyze Snorlax and leave it vulnerable. But first, I’d have to do some grinding with him, possibly even enough to evolve him into a Dragonair.

Overall, the plan seemed pretty close to perfect… … …so I guess I only have myself to blame for just how badly it went wrong. I was on Route 16, trying to get Martini experience, when we ran into a Doduo. It was one level beneath Martini, so…against my better judgment, I sent him to fight the Doduo, thinking he could handle it alone. One lucky Fury Attack later, and Martini was already low on HP, so my first impulse was to recall him and send out Oswald. Except, in a panic, I’d forgotten that, in FireRed, Doduo learn Pursuit at Level 9, and…

…

…My first loss. First soldier down. And one who would’ve been a HUGE help in the game but I’d barely gotten a chance to get to know, all because I made an error in judgment. N. Harmonik was actually quick to point out that I’d done pretty well for myself to last this long without suffering a loss. Probably to make me feel better, which I appreciate. And yet, all I could think of was “Martini was dead, and it was my fault”. And, after returning to the Pokémon Center, I must’ve gone at least a half hour without doing anything in the game. Finally, I knew the pain of losing a Pokémon. I’m not an idiot, really. I know it’s just a game. And yet, that fact didn’t seem to make me feel much better. I’m pretty sentimental, so losing a Pokémon hit me pretty hard. But, after a while of looking at Martini’s grave…

Yeah, I decided to go with making a box of my PC a cemetery (which I spelled wrong, lol) for dead Pokémon instead of releasing them right away.

…I eventually came to a decision: Never again. I wouldn’t make such mistakes so easily again. I would familiarize myself with the movesets of every Pokémon I encountered from now on and make sure to know my team inside and out, their strengths and limitations. And so, with a heavy heart, I left the Center and made my way to face Snorlax, never forgetting who was left behind.

Met in Celadon CityLevel 18 – 19Even in death, he was merely shaken, but never stirred.

… … …Anyway, I got to Route 12, and used the Poké Flute to wake up Snorlax. As expected, he was PISSED, but fortunately, the plan to force him to use up all his PP for Rest worked. Mikey took care of the rest, and when all was said and done…

Now I just need a bumbling sidekick to follow him around. I’m thinking a Duskull. XD

So yeah, with Pokémon Tower dealt with and Snorlax awoken and caught, I decided to call it a night. Next time, though, I’m probably gonna be doing some traversing around the locations in Kanto I’ve already been to, largely due to another new item I’ll have obtained. Ja né!